I was a hospice chaplain for seven years, and currently I visit elderly people, help them get to appointments, listen to their stories. Let me just say that death as part of life is fascinating to me.
Eugene O’Kelly was a healthy 52 year old CEO when diagnosed with terminal cancer: three months to live is very terminal! He chose to live those months, days, hours, and minutes in the present. He spent the time ‘unwinding’ his relationships, from acquaintances to intimate family.
A clear prognosis of our death journey is rare, and regardless, most of us are not as methodical as Kelly about mapping our future, not matter what the circumstances. But some of his ways of saying goodbye, staying present, and being at peace might be worth making our own, now and for the future.